Being human is hard. Logic would have dictated that from the beginning, considering she was teetering on the edge of being a robot.
Still, she is not quite prepared to embrace all that it means to be human once more. It means accepting the fact that her peers still belittle her, calling her demeaning names and defaming her character. She knows that she took this on willingly, though she must insist that logic had left her in that moment and she'd done the most illogical thing she could have imagined.
Her unease must show on her face, as Usagi gently smiles and takes hold of her hand to pull her over the threshold of the school grounds. Ami feels her stomach churn even as her feet move thoughtlessly forward, following the blond like a lost lamb. There is a part of her keenly wanting to blame the hapless blond dragging her forward, but Ami dismisses it quickly. Of any is to blame, the blond is the least likely culprit, as Ami is beginning to see that there is no true mean spirited bone in the young teens body.
Oh, no doubt the blond has her thoughtless moments she spouts something in frustration. She's heard Usagi mumble quite the heated comment concerning Haruna Sensei, even if most were still quite juvenile.
But true hate, true cruelty? Ami wonders if the blond could possibly pull it off. There is too much warmth exuding from the blond, too much heart. Ami can't fathom any sort of taint lingering somewhere within it, not with how brilliantly the petite blond glows.
The day passes much as others in the past, only this time Ami is spared from suffering alone. Usagi is a soothing balm, consistently by her side every moment she is able. When Ami finishes her extra lessons after class, Usagi is shockingly, waiting for her.
Ami is pleasantly surprised by the warmth that spreads through her upon seeing the blond dozing by the entrance doors. She is well aware that the plucky blond would rather be any place than school, but she had waited anyway.
There is little reason to resist the temptation that dashes through her, hastening quiet steps to the resting blond and allowing a single chaste kiss to brush across the other girl's brow. It makes a heady surge of emotion bubble through her, making her slightly dizzy with the sheer force of it. Once her father had left, no one had waited for her like this. She had often waited for her mother, when she was younger. But that practice had waned when she often woke late in the night with a horrible crick in her neck and an empty apartment.
A soft rustle of fabric draws her attention, and she watches as the petite blond yawns widely, stretching in a rather comical fashion.
"Shall I walk you home?" Queries Ami, a faint upturn of her lips the only show of her roiling emotions.
"Oh!" Usagi jumps to her feet, a bashful smile overtaking her as she shuffles around in uncertainty. "I… Well I thought I could walk you home. I think you live slightly closer than I do."
"That would please me," remarks Ami, turning to face the gates as the sun begins to descend. "Coming?" Ami isn't quite sure where her boldness comes from, but she finds her hand aloft before she can even register she's made the gesture.
Usagi's smile splits her face as she hops over without hesitation and takes the offered limb.
The entire walk is filled with Usagi's endless chatter. Ami shouldn't really be surprised, but a part of her is still amazed the girl can literally talk about anything and everything without care. For a girl who seems so set on ignoring lessons, she is surprisingly observant of a great deal of topics. They are only partially informed, but the fact the blond has made any reasonable argument with such little information is rather intriguing.
Ami finds her eyes turning to their joined hands where Usagi is swinging them haphazardly back and forth. It is such a simple gesture, but the carefree ease in which she does it makes it all that more touching. Again her chest is flush with emotion, and Ami begins to wonder how much life one girl can suffuse into her without even trying.
The walk ends too quickly, much to Ami's ire and bemusement. She had often had critical debates over the seeming fluxuations of time, and she had frequently argued against the ridiculous notion that time could possibly shorten or lengthen depending on a person's awareness or lack thereof of its passing.
Logic is surely going to test her merit now that she is making all these new observations.
Ami calmly unlocks her apartment door, vaguely aware that her inner turmoil still does not express itself on her face as she had half expected and partially dreaded. She turns to face the blond rocking back and forth on her feet with restless energy. Ami goes to open her mouth, but a red faced Usagi darts forward before she can finish the motion. Ami finds herself frozen in place as a chaste kiss is quickly planted on her cheek before Usagi whirls around and peels off down the walkway with a hasty farewell tossed over her shoulder.
Time grinds to a halt, the blunette not having expected that in the least. She isn't aware of how much time actually passes until her mother's gasp pulls her out of her stupefied state.
"Ami, dear! You startled me! What are you doing up so late?" Her mother is clearly tired, shadows under her eyes and hair disturbed just enough to show her mother's lack of attention to it as the hours passed.
The blunette is slow to blink, mind drawing itself together from whatever four corners it had scattered. She gives her mother a faint smile, traces lingering from the giddy feeling still burbling inside her. "Mother." She gives the older woman a hug, something she hadn't done for years.
The poor woman jerks in surprise, awkwardly returning the hug before Ami pulls away. Before she can question her daughter, Ami is already blissfully making her way into the apartment to her room.
Ami doesn't even register the flummoxed look on her mother's face as she enters her room and closes the door behind her.
Ami is quite enthralled that the entire week follows a similar pattern. There isn't always a kiss. Sometimes Usagi simply smothers her with an exuberant embrace. Either way, Ami can quite eagerly argue that feeling like a hollowed out robot is the absolute last thing on her mind.
Discovering the Miko is… A bit of a damper on her good mood. The Shrine Priestess is confident, poised, and sharp as a tack. It isn't just the fact that everything Hino embodies defies logic, though that is quite a frustration in of itself. Ami figures she should feel less ire at the poor girl for a life of spirituality, especially when Ami herself talks to a cat that responds and prances around the city in a Fuka throwing magic around to save said city… Her distaste for things that can't be explained should have waned a bit with her latest escapades. However, it is still a very hard habit to distill, especially when she'd grown up trying to crack the various inexplicable ways that such priests and priestesses had defied logic in differing methods that could not be explained or proven through science and study.
The main problem is the striking focus the priestess unconsciously carries with her. It draws attention, and Ami is rather put out that Usagi is awed by the talented raven haired girl. It tries her patience to have Usagi spouting questions left and right about the Shrine, mystified by the entire shabang while Hino smoothly explains things with careful detail.
When Hino is proven to be Senshi… Ami has the severe temptation to stamp her foot like an irate child. She ruthlessly squashes the urge, but it is whispering to her nonetheless. It takes most of her willpower to resist stomping over to the pair and dragging the blond away in a fit of indignation.
The only blessing is that Hino seems distant to Usagi's bubbly approach. The Mars Senshi proves very reserved with friendly relations and very primly shows that she has very little interest in anything more than assisting in getting rid of the monsters roaming the city.
Usagi finally seems to take the hint and backs off. Oh, not entirely. Ami already knows that Usagi's stubborn streak will somehow win this battle as it has others past. Ami only hopes that the blonde's intent is to befriend the Miko and nothing more.
It eases her mind slightly when Usagi walks her home yet again, leaving her with a chaste kiss before Ami can protest or be mulish about it.
In the end, Ami finds herself grateful for Hino's assistance. Usagi and herself are not exactly spectacular on their own. With the Miko's added firepower, they certainly manage better against their foes. It is beginning to become clear that their battle is a long one, and it has its obvious share of becoming more difficult as such things are want to do.
A few more weeks pass, and the beginnings of a new kind of rumor spread around the gossip chain. Ami had already accounted for such comments, but finds it still stings when the first group of girls sashay up to them at lunch and spout a very loud slur about what two girls spending too much time together obviously entails. Ami is infinitely glad that Hino goes to a different school.
And then… Ami realizes that Usagi has cocked her head to the side in a show of confusion. With dawning mortification, the blunette realizes that the blond has probably never even heard about such things, and therefore has no idea what the slur actually means. Usagi turns to her expectantly, and Ami almost swallows her tongue at the wide blue eyes gazing up at her trustingly.
"Ami, when did love become such a thing to be belittled?" Asks the blond, guileless expression like a beacon of pure innocent righteousness to all witnessing the confrontation.
The comment strikes home hard, leaving the horrid girls sputtering as Ami's lips spread in a hopeless smile.
"It hasn't. Only those with small minds come up with such silly notions."
Usagi positively beams at her. "Ah, good! I was worried for a second!" She blissfully continues eating her lunch as if nothing untoward had occurred to begin with.
The girls leave shamefaced, many other amused students making remarks on their failed attempt while giving Ami and Usagi more thoughtful looks.
Ami feels her chest tighten, a burning feeling spreading in her eyes. Had she been alone, the girls' remark would have been far more cutting. Ami doubts she would have been able to come up with such a retort had she not had Usagi with her. The fact the blond had used such a word as 'belittle' only solidifies her feelings of pride and joy. Before they had spent such large amounts of time together, Ami is certain such a word would not have existed in Usagi's vocabulary. Much as in that Ami would not have the courage or will to stand up to such girls had Usagi not instilled in her feelings of confidence and self worth.
It isn't until later that Usagi turns to her calmly as they're walking home that she nearly makes Ami's heart leap from her chest.
"Those girls, from lunch, were they trying to say what I think they were?"
Ami isn't quite sure how to respond. She had thought she'd made her intentions clear, but… Perchance, she could be entirely wrong and had lead Usagi in a merry dance that the blond wasn't even aware she is participating in. Her throat feels tight even as her voice sounds clear. "They were implying that there is a relationship between us, one that is more intimate than friends."
Usagi's lips form a small concentrated pout, blue eyes darting up to stare at the clouds dotting the sky overhead.
Ami's nerves are completely shattered, heart raging in her breast. Despite all the time spent with Usagi, she is still pants at trying to understand the girl's many moods and expressions. She works herself into a decent tizzy, mind lurching down increasingly petrifying thoughts even as her face remains stoic as they continue down the sidewalk.
The blond huffs, breaking Ami's internal tangent as swiftly as a hammer smashing through a window. "Boy, aren't they slow! It's been, like, two months!"
The startled laugh that erupts past her lips surprises her, but Usagi merely turns and grins at her widely.
And then the blond collides with Chiba Mamoru.
"Watch it, Odango!"
His snide remark has Ami's hackles on end as she tenderly helps Usagi to her feet.
Usagi is opening her mouth, clearly ready to lash out on her own, but Ami, shockingly, beats her to it.
"Best you watch yourself, Chiba-San," she says sharply, eyes like flint as she downright glares at the startled man. "You are very aware that she walks this path every day after class. That you only come this way when you seem to need some poor target for your deplorable sense of humor shows that you are the one that should be apologizing, as you always seem to come around this very corner at the time that she is expected to. This is the fourth time alone that I have been here when you've purposely run into her! Do it again and I will be calling the police and file for harassment!" She guides the blond around the man stiffly, lip near curling in a snarl. "Good day."
The man is on her last nerve. It is obvious that he is intentionally running into the blond, and that he perpetually starts little spats with the blond does not help her temper. She would think a man that educated and already in college would hardly waste his time with a Middle School student, but his glaring tenacity to stalk the poor blond are stating otherwise. She would be damned if she let it continue!
When they've walked a good distance, Ami is finally calm enough to slow them to a more normal pace and school her scowl back into a mild expression of unease.
When she peeks at Usagi through her lashes, she nearly stumbles at the affectionate but teasing smirk the blond has directed at her.
"Wow Ames, I didn't know you had it in you!" Usagi gently nudges her in the ribs with her elbow before bursting into a wicked cackle. "Did you see his face?! Priceless!" She pretends to wipe a happy tear from her eye. "I will treasure that memory always!"
A faint blush works its way up Ami's visage as the bluentte keeps her gaze locked firmly on the ground as she holds her bag defensively in front of her.
"He's being ridiculous," she murmurs, abashed at her own outburst.
"Oh, he most certainly had it coming! He's such a jerk! But ooooh!" Usagi lunges at her and wraps her in a tight hug as she cheerfully rubs her cheek against Ami's. "That was so epic! I hope it means he'll leave me alone now!"
In that moment, Ami fully commits to verbally lambasting the man any time he comes within ten feet of the petite blond cuddling into her.